Run This Town
by kerrykhat
Summary: A visit by Tony Stark to Gotham City can only lead to trouble. Fortunately for him, Batgirl is there to save the day.


**Disclaimer: **Warner Bros owns "DC Comics" and related characters; Disney owns "Iron Man" and related characters; I own nothing.

0~0~0

Barbara sat perched on the ledge of Gotham National Bank, watching the flow of people below her. Bruce and Dick were out of town, leaving her the only member of the Bat family in Gotham. The last few days had been relatively quiet, but she wasn't going to count on it lasting too much longer, especially not when the richest playboy after Bruce had decided that now would be an excellent time to visit Gotham. That was just asking for trouble.

"Anything on the Bat-scanners?" she asked Alfred over the comm system, getting to her feet and prepping her line.

"Nothing yet, Miss Batgirl," Alfred's crisp voice said through her earpiece. She sighed audibly as leaped off the bank and soared towards the next available landing perch.

"So, anything new in the Batcave?" she asked, continuing to make her way through the Gotham City skyline. "Has Batman done any redecorating lately?"

"I'm afraid not," Alfred answered in an amused voice. "Are you volunteering?"

"Please. Like he'd let me near the cave with a can of paint. He freaks now when I'm using the computer, and this is after I managed to upgrade the software," she complained. She liked that Bruce trusted her enough to wear the bat symbol, she really did, but there were times when she felt left out of the special club he and Dick had. She was the third wheel in the Bat-family. This trip that he was taking was case and point of that. The sharp trill of a siren rushing past her yanked her out of her pity-party.

"What's going on?" she asked, quickly following the sound to wherever it was going.

"Our esteemed visitor, Tony Stark, has managed to get kidnapped," Alfred told her dryly, sarcasm tingeing his voice. "Your former acquaintance, Killer Moth, appears to be responsible."

"When did he get out? I hadn't heard about a breakout."

"The parole board decided to release him last week." The barely concealed disdain in Alfred's voice told Barbara all she needed to know about his opinion of the board. "Give me a moment to triangulate where Killer Moth might be taking Mr. Stark."

"Hold on, I got a visual," Barbara cut in, spying an otherwise unremarkable van speeding away, in the opposite direction of where the sirens were going. Squinting, she could make out the distinctive shape of the glasses Moth liked his flunkies to wear. "Black van, unmarked with a license plate I can't read going up Second Avenue. I'm in pursuit."

"Very well," Alfred replied, and Barbara could hear the distinct noises of him tapping the keyboard over her earpiece. "I'm tracking police communication, and will let you know if there are any developments."

"Thanks you," Barbara called out, shooting out another line and swinging towards the next building. "Alright, Mothie," she muttered to herself. "Play time's over."

0~0~0

"Look, just tell me who put you up to this," Tony Stark called out. "I mean, it's a great joke, don't get me wrong, but it started getting old, oh, I don't know, fifteen minutes ago."

"Shut up," the goon next to him snarled, leaning a little closer, his alcohol-infused breath washing over Tony's face. "Or I'll make you."

"No need for violence," Tony said, trying to sound conciliatory and not let the thread of nervousness show. If it turned out Wayne was paying him back for that prank Tony had pulled on him when he had come out west last year, Tony would not be happy.

"Roger, calm down," a voice from the front seat said. "He's not worth anything if you kill him."

"Oh, that's soothing," Tony muttered to himself as the goon glared at him before settling on the other side of the van.

A loud "pop" filled the air, and the back end of the van dropped several inches and lurched to the left, throwing Tony and the guard against the wall. Hard. Groaning from the impact, Tony tried to straighten himself, which was hard, considering his hands were still cuffed. The guard wasn't so lucky, slidding to the floor unconscious.

"Boss?" the goon up front grunted. "What was that?"

"It's must be the Bat, but he's supposed to be out of town," the man muttered, a hint of panic in his voice. "What..."

The sound of glass shattering interrupted him before he could say anything else, the shards exploding inwards. Tony held up his hands, trying to protect his face, as the sound of somebody landing on the hood of the van reached his ears.

"Moth, it hurts that you forgot me so quickly," a relatively young and decidedly female voice stated, full of false sweetness. Tony winced at the distinctive sound of a fist hitting a jaw, wondering who that unfortunate jaw belonged to. There was a muffled shout, but again, the sound of a fist hitting flesh. Tony tried to maneuver so that he could see what was going on, but was unable to do so.

"Now just sit tight until the nice boys in blue show up," the female voice said. "It shouldn't be too long."

"When I get out…" the leader began before the woman interrupted him.

"I'll be here waiting. Enjoy Blackgate." Tony heard the sound of heels hitting the pavement before moving around towards the back. The doors opened suddenly, and Tony blinked, trying to make out the form of his rescuer. A petite young woman stood there, her red hair peeking out from under an ultramarine cowl, a bright yellow bat silhouette shining against her dark bodysuit.

"You Tony Stark?" she asked, giving him a critical look with sharp green eyes.

"Why are you asking?" Tony asked, unable to help himself and laying on the charm. "You want to get to know each other a little better after this is over with? Let yourself breathe a little out of that suit of yours?"

"And now I understand why he can't stand you," the woman muttered under her breath. Before he could ask who she meant, the sound of approaching sirens reached ears. "And that's my cue to leave. Try not to get kidnapped again."

"Well, if you're the one rescuing me, I can make no promises," Tony said with a smirk. A blush stole across her face, but before he could say anything, she vanished in a swirl of yellow, black, and ultramarine. Tony looked at the spot where she had just been, wondering who exactly she was, and if there was a chance he would be able to see her again before he left Gotham. Without the kidnapping aspect, of course.

0~0~0

Years later, when news of Tony Stark's identity as Iron Man was released to the media, Barbara Gordon nearly spit her coffee out over her morning newspaper. Dear God, the world was doomed when it was relying on Stark to save the day, she thought with a shake of her head. Absolutely and utterly doomed.


End file.
